Stoker mechanism



March 27, 1934. P. A. KETCHPEL STOKER MECHANISM Original Filed Jan. 28, 1932 *1. 1 Mari/1 1.79

I 'l I r i ATTORNEY.

Patented Mar. 27, 1934 Y T D T TE PATENT OFFICE 3,

' Paul A. Ketchpel, West Englewood, N. J., assignor to The Standard. Stoker Company, Incorporated, a corporation of Delaware I a i Application January 28, 1932, Serial No. 589,345 Renewed September 16, 1933 4 Claims.

This invention appertains to stokers for-use in .connection with locomotives and more particularly to power generating and transmitting means therefor.

It is the main object of this invention to provide means whereby the stoker driving motor may be mounted beneath a stoker feed conduit and rigidly attached thereto, said motor occupying such space on the locomotive and tender which has not been utilized heretofore.

It is also an object of this invention to provide means whereby the stoker driving motor which is disposed in the above described manner, is rendered adjustable for fore and aft movement longitudinally of the locomotive and tender cen- .ter line.

It is a further object of this invention to provide means whereby the stoker driving motor may be mounted beneath a stoker feed conduit and. attached-rigidly thereto, said motor being disposed to occupy the space between the locomotive and tender which is included by their respective deck and frame member.

These and other objects and advantages, such as'the construction of the driving motor, will be more fully described in the followingspecification, accompanied by the drawing, in which Figure 1 is a central vertical longitudinal section through the adjacent portions .of a locomotive and tender, the stoker driving motor being. shown in elevation on the stoker, parts of which are broken away,

Figure 2 is a plan view of the stoker driving motor with parts broken away to best, illustrate the structure, 7 v

. Figure 3 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1, with portions broken I away, and

Figure 4 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 44 of Figure 1.

On the drawing, the locomotive is shown at A, its tender at B and a coupling member therebetween .at C. The'locomotive is of conventional form and includes a-firebox 10, its backwall 11 which has a firing opening therein as at 12 and the grates 13 which support the firebed. .Extendingl rearwardly of the backwall 11 is the cab 14 which is supported by a deck 15. The tender comprises a frame 16 and the fuel bin 17 which has an apertured floor 18 covered by shift- .able plates 19 for the purpose of controlling the flow of fuel from the bin into the open mouth trough 20 of stoker conveying system S.

The stoker comprises a riser or elevator conduit 21 rigidly mounted with the backwall 11 as by means of the bracket 22 and has an open delivery mouth 23 in communication with the lower portion of the firing opening 12. The elevator conduit delivery mouth 23 discharges fuel upon the distributing plate 24 from which it is in the .casing 3'7.

L swept to all parts of the grates 13 by jets of pressure fluid issuing from the head 25.- A screw conveyor 26 is revolvably mounted in the elevator conduit 21 and is provided at its lower end with a housing 27 for the gearing 28 which'transmits power to the screw-26 for elevating the fuel and delivering the same onto the distributory plate 24.

Suitable means are employed for transferring fuel from the bin 17 of the tender to the riser or elevator; conduit 21 and comprise the transfer conduit T which includes the open mouth trough '20 and a tubular extension 29 thereof. The forward end of this tubular extension isprovided F with a spherical member '30 which enters the 14, throat 31 of the elevator conduit 21, at the base of the elevator conduit screw 26. Preferably, although not necessarily, the tubular extension 29 and open mouth trough 20 are rigidly secured at their adjacent ends, forming a rigid transfer con- L duit which is mounted beneath the fuel bin for vertical, longitudinal and lateral movement by means of the rollers 32 resting upon the rails 33. The transfer conduit T, at its forward end is tied with the elevator conduit 21 by a vertically disposed pin 34 which engages the member and the elevator conduit 21 in a manner which allows the transfer conduit to be free for any movement necessary while the locomotive andtender are passing over turn-tables or rounding curves. 5.1 9 conveyor screw 35 urges the fuel forwardly from the transfer conduit to the base of the elevator. conduit screw 26 which discharges the fuel onto the plate 24. The screw 35 at its rearward end is operatively connected to gearing 36 housed with- Thus far, the stoker as disclosed is' not of new or novelform, this particular type of stoker being chosen for the purpose of demonstrating some of the advantages that are afforded by the pres- K ent invention, which resides in the provision of a novel stoker driving motor and its relation with respect to the stoker conveyor conduits The driving motor M is preferably of the multi- 105 cylinder type and in the instance shown cornprises an engine body 38 having spaced cylinders 39 and 40 provided with thepistons 41 and 42 respectively which are mounted reciprocably in said. cylinders and arranged to transmit power 1 10 to a crankshaft 43 by means of the connecting members such as 44. The crankshaft 43 is ,provided with the eccentric portions 45 which give motion to the valve'members such as 46 by means of the stem 46a. Each of the cylinders is pro ,1 vided with a valve member 46, the valvemembers serving to control the distribution of pressure fluid such as steam to thecylindersAl and42 for reciprocating the pistons therein. Thecrankshaft 43 is suitably journalled as at 4 and has its central portion in the form of 48.

The engine body 38 is provided with a flat central portion 49 which may be interfitted with the foot member 50 depending from the underside of the transfer conduit T. The upper portion of the engine body is provided with vertically disposed flanges such as 70 through which the bolts '71 are passed for rigidly securing the engine to the transfer conduit. It will be observed that the foot member 50 is of a substantial length which permits the engine to be variably disposed thereof by bolting said engine in a desired position longitudinally of this foot member.

Preferably, the driving motor is secured to the transfer conduit sothat the motor and the transfer conduit are in the same central vertical longitudinal plane. Inthe instance shown, the motor M is disposed at the approximate center of gravity of the stoker, thereby evenly distributing its weight to the locomotive and tender. Should it be desired to transfer all of the weight of the motor M or a portion thereof to either the locomotive or tender, the motor is then moved bodily longitudinally of the foot member 50 and then rigidly secured to the transfer conduit T by the bolts 71.

Secured to the underside of the engine body 38 by the flanges 51, is a casing 52 which houses a helical gear 53. The helical gear53 meshes with a helical worm the worm 48 and is provided with a power shaft 54 which is suitably journalled as at 55 and 56.

A drive shaft 57 extends forwardly from the gear ing. 38 at the rear of the trough member 20. Since the motor M is rigidly secured to the underside of the transfer conduit, the drive shaft 57 may be accurately aligned with the power shaft 54, permitting the shafts to be connected by a sleeve coupling 58, thereby obviating the use of a universally connected shaft. The opposite end of the power shaft 54 transmits power to the gearing 28 at the base of the elevator conduit 21 by means of the extensible shaft 59 having the universal joints 60 and 61 at its ends connected to the gearing 28 and the power shaft 54 respectively. The extensible shaft 59 and its associated gearing are preferably maintained on the longitudinal center-line of the locomotive and tender, therefore, when the locomotive and ten der are rounding curves, the angle at which this shaft operates is of lesser degree than would otherwise be possible. The shafts and their respective joints or couplings are arranged so that when the driving motor is moved bodily along said transfer conduit the shafts remain. in an operative connection with the power shaft 54. It will be understood that with the use of a stoker in which the conveyor screws are in end to end relation or in. which only one screw for delivering fuel to the distributing plate is used, the extensible shaft 59 and its universal joints 60 and 61 Would not be necessary.

By securing the driving motor M to the transfer conduit T, the position of the motor may be varied with respect to the center of gravity of the stoker, thereby shifting the entire weight of the motor or a portion thereof so that the weight transferred to the locomotive A or the tender B may be equalized or varied in any suitable proportion, depending upon the limits of the axles. At the same time, the motor is disposed so as to occupy only such space upon the locomotive or tender which heretofore has not been used to any advantage.

By this novel arrangement it is also possible for the motor to be secured to the stoker at a point immediately above the coupling member of the locomotive and tender, allowing ready access to the motor when repairs are necessary, since the space immediately above the coupling member is usually not enclosed in any manner.

From the foregoing description, it, will be observed that a driving motor of novel form has been provided'which is particularly adaptable for use in connection with a locomotive stoker due to its novel relation with the stoker fuel conveying conduits.

I claim:

1. In combination with a rigidly formed fuel conveying conduit having a screw for advancing fuel therethrough, a two cylinder motor secured to and at the underside of said conduit arranged with a cylinder located at each side of the axis-of the conduit and extending substantially parallel 95 therewith, said motor including a crankshaft extending transversely of the conduit, a helical worm associated with the crank shaft intermediate its ends, and a helical gear meshing with said helical worm, said helical gear having a-power shaft operatively connected to said screw.

2. In combination with a rigidly formed fuel conveying conduit having a screw for advancing fuel therethrough, a motor secured to and at the underside of said conduit, said conduit and said motor lying in the same central vertical longi' tudinal plane, the motor being positioned with its remote sides disposed substantially equidistant from the longitudinal axis of the conduit, said motor including a crankshaft, disposed transversely of said conduit, a helical worm formed with the central portion of said crankshaft, and a helical gear meshing with said helical worm, said helical gear having a power shaft operatively connected to said screw. 115

3. In a locomotive having a-tender and a coupling member therebetween, in combination, a stoker including a fuel transfer conduit extending from the tender to the locomotive, conveying means in the conduit, a two cylinder motor oar- 120 ried by the conduit adjacent the underside thereof in a position over said coupling member, said motor arranged with a cylinder located at each side of the longitudinal axis of the conduit and extending substantially parallel therewith and 125 including a crank shaft disposed beneath and transversely of the conduit, and drive mechanism operatively connecting the crank shaft with said conveying means.

4. In a locomotive having a tender and a coupling member therebetween, in combination, a stoker including a fuel transfer conduit extending from the tender to the locomotive, conveying means in the conduit, a two cylinder motor carried by the conduit adjacent the underside thereof in a position over said coupling member, said motor arranged with a cylinder located at each side of the longitudinal axis of the conduit and extending substantially parallel therewith and including a crank shaft disposed beneath and, transversely of the conduit, and drive mechanism operatively connecting the crank shaft with said conveying means, said drive mechanism com prising gearing directly associated with the crank shaft, gearing directly associated with the conveying means and a drive shaft operatively connecting the first and second named gearing.

PAUL A. KETCHPEL. 

